Kick Mediocrity To The Curb Today

“We do not fail overnight. Failure is nothing more than a few errors in judgment repeated every day.” ~Jim Rohn

Note: If you’re already rockin’ this year, this article isn’t for you (and congratulations!)

Do you want to succeed in this business? Chances are that since you’re reading this post, the answer is a resounding YES.

If you’re going to be a successful real estate investor (or a successful anything), you have to have a lot of hustle and a lot of heart. You have to have what ultra-creative real estate investor and best-selling author Frank McKinney calls “forward relentless motion.”

Build and sustain momentum.

Kick mediocrity to the curb.

It’s almost the end of January so you must start today. Here’s how:

1. Evaluate your current situation.

First you really want to know where you are so you know where you’re headed, so let’s evaluate the current situation. More specifically, what have you done since the new year to help you move forward with your real estate investing? Have you spent time consistently working towards your first (or next) deal? Are you generating a flurry of meaningless activity and have no results to show for it (this is so easy to fall into)? Maybe you’re making some progress, but you just feel like you can and should commit to more?

Take the next 5 minutes and make a quick list of everything you can think of that you have done since January 1, 2010 to make progress with your real estate investing. Go ahead and do it now and then come back to the article.

Done? Great! Now look at your list. Are you satisfied with it? Do you feel you’re doing everything you can to get to your desired result? Regardless of your answer, the good news is now you know where you stand. Let’s move on.

2. Make a commitment

How much time are you going to allocate daily towards your real estate investing business? How much time can you make available to work towards your financial freedom?

Make a schedule. Make a commitment right now. You likely have a full time job and perhaps even a spouse and/or children but I have all of these things too and trust me when I say that you can still find the time and you’ll need to be organized and purposeful about it.

This is so obvious, I know, but doing what it takes to be successful is both easy to do and easy not to do. This is where the hustle comes in. For example, my husband and I for a variety of reasons switched gears for this year on our mid-level profit investing strategy and chose to do short sale investing rather than continue with rehabbing. We have to start at square 1 for our short sale investing focus and that means the most important thing is for us to move quickly, get some early wins to celebrate, and build momentum for this new strategy. That’s precisely what we’re doing and I’m committed to doing something every day to move that ball forward and therefore have every reason to believe that we will be successful and reach our specific goals with this new strategy in 2010.

Because I’m committed to taking action every day, some amazing things are already taking place. This is simply a decision that we had to make — to be willing to do what it takes and make daily progress!

4. Plan the work and then work the plan.

Today is January 21. You have written out goals for this year (or this month, or this quarter), haven’t you? If not, don’t waste time feeling bad, but turn it around by thinking about (and writing down) your intentions for 2010. I highly recommend reading a recent post from fellow BiggerPockets blogger J. Lamar Ferren to get your wheels turning on this. Make this a priority and have your high level goals and detailed written action plan for the next 30, 60, and 90 days completed by the end of this weekend.

Know that you’ll run into setbacks here and there. No worries though. Celebrate the wins (large or small) and get up and dust yourself off quickly when you stumble. You’ll learn something every step of the way while you’re taking action and the end result is priceless. I listened to an interview with marketing genius and best-selling author Seth Godin yesterday and he said something really simple: “Mediocrity is for losers.”

Kick mediocrity to the curb and do it today.

“The formula for success is easy to follow: A few simple disciplines practiced every day” ~Jim Rohn

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About Author

Shae Bynes is a real estate investor in Sunny South Florida. On her blog, GoodFaithInvesting.com, she provides helpful tips and an inside look at her real estate investing adventures — obstacles, failures, & successes!

Thanks Matt! I really appreciate that. “Forward relentless motion” is one my favorite phrases. After I finish up the expanded version of The Four Hour Work Week, I will be reading Frank McKinney’s “The Tap”…. I’ve heard wonderful things about the book and I think its one that you’d like as well.

Shae -you are crushing 2010 and we’re only 21 days in. AWESOME post … and I agree with Matt … it’s for everyone … I really believe the thing is to something EVERY SINGLE DAY that moves you towards your goals. Somedays that something will be tiny… one single email or phone call or article or letter sent… other days your action will be massive. As long as you take a little step every day you’re going to leave mediocre in your awesome dust.

These tips certainly gave a clear outline of what most successful people have been doing all these time.
Success is directly equated with hard work positioned towards the right direction. Knowing what you want and not stopping there, because you are constantly working for it. Plan the work and work the plan, fueled by the strong will succeed, this circle can never lead you but to success.

Sustained momentum and commitment are key components to help us rise from the sea of mediocrity.

From the time I was a rebellious teen, and throughout all the phases of my life, I have found it is hard to settle for mediocrity. That does not mean I haven’t been unremarkable, average, or uninspired throughout my life.

However, it is easy to recognize the symptoms of mediocrity, as I am not happy with who I am. This helps me assess where I am at, regroup, focus and move forward with commitment.